Queensland police confirm death of helicopter pilot

Queensland police have confirmed the death of a helicopter pilot after a crash in western Queensland.

Emergency services were called to a helicopter crash near Blackall, about 965km north-west of Brisbane, on Monday morning about 9.30am.

“The pilot and sole occupant of the helicopter, a 42-year-old man, was declared deceased at scene,” a spokesperson for the police said.

A spokesperson for the Australian transport safety bureau said it had launched an investigation into the incident.

The Robinson R22 helicopter crashed at Pretty Plains Station after being “observed descending rapidly, prior to a collision with terrain,” the spokesperson said.

A team of investigators is expected to arrive at the remote location tomorrow.

Barnaby Joyce says One Nation poll dip due to convicted rapist

Barnaby Joyce has said One Nation likely lost support over hiring and firing of convicted rapist Sean Black, while failing to rule out the chance Black is still volunteering for the party.

Pauline Hanson last week said she had fired Black after his employment received media attention. Joyce pointed to the coverage as a reason for today’s Resolve poll finding One Nation support had slipped by 2% (within the margin of error), when asked by Afternoon Briefing host Patricia Karvelas on the ABC:

Yes, in the last week the Sean Black thing was not good media, but Sean Black is now gone and we move on. … He doesn’t work for us any more, Patricia, he is gone …

Asked if Black was volunteering for One Nation or remained on its payroll, Joyce said:

He is not working for us any more. That is the advice I have got and that is the advice I’m running with. I’m not trying to be evasive. I’m telling you exactly what I know …

There’s no reason the people who told me that are pulling my leg or telling me a yarn ...

The Coalition is worried about One Nation when they should be worried about the nation … and that suits us. If they have their eyes on us and we have our eyes on the Australian people, ultimately I know which one the Australian people will be supporting … You can write things on the back of the toilet door about us. It doesn’t get you votes.

Joyce went on:

I can go through every party and find mistakes they have made. We can do that. We can go and have a litany of cathartic dispositions about certain people and when they were employed and why they were employed. I [can] go to the ABC and fire them, one, two, three, four, five people who did this and did that and I can prove it and say to you: ‘Patricia, do you feel comfortable working for the ABC? Do you think you should be with that organisation?’. You’d say: ‘Did we deal with the problem, well yes, we dealt with the problem, move on.’

Shell will send Australian chair to gas inquiry – but still no CEOs

Just circling back to earlier news about the parliamentary inquiry into the tax settings for gas companies, which kicks off in Canberra tomorrow.

As reported, the chief executives of the major gas companies won’t be giving evidence despite invitations from the Greens-chaired committee.

But while one of those companies, Shell, won’t be sending its chief executive, the committee will hear from its most senior person in Australia – country chair, Cecile Wake.

Wake is due to give evidence at 11am on Wednesday.

Barnaby Joyce says Australians risk losing US military defence by criticising Trump

Barnaby Joyce has claimed One Nation is not having trouble for its association with Donald Trump and warned criticising the US president risks leaving Australia without military defence.

Appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Joyce denied Trump was a problem for the party’s brand, after GetUp attack ads highlighted One Nation’s support for the foreign president. He said:

No, the ABC would like to make it a problem for us, but I don’t think it is ... What you’re actually saying is, ‘Donald trump is a problem for you, isn’t it Barnaby, I want you to affirm that on TV.’ And I’m not going to do that ‘cos I don’t think it is.

Asked for his personal opinion on Trump, Joyce said:

We have got ourselves into an awful pickle because of our lack of power that we should have to deal with the circumstances we find ourselves in, in south-east Asia which is where we live. And if we get too far out of our lane, believe you me United States can live [without] us but we cannot live without United States …

Our defence policy at the moment, from what I can see, is if we get into trouble, we get the United States’ mums and dads to send their sons and daughters over to die for Australia. And that’s a pretty poor defence policy because we have no hope of conducting it by ourselves.

Because you have an incredibly awe-inspiring contract you would hope the American people would honour, you have to be careful what you say about United States of America, and, whether you like it or not, their elected president.

Coalition calls for 5% deposit scheme to be means-tested

Andrew Bragg, the Coalition housing spokesperson, has suggested the 5% deposit housing program should be means-tested.

The Coalition last week called for the Albanese government’s first home buyer scheme to exclude permanent residents, days after One Nation’s Pauline Hanson criticised the program’s open design.

Bragg this afternoon appeared to call for further restrictions, excluding high-wealth or high-income people. When asked on the ABC about whether the NDIS should be means-tested, he pivoted to the 5% deposit scheme:

In general, we need more means testing across the board. In my own portfolio we have the 5% deposits available to any Australian regardless of their income.

What you’ve seen there is a massive increase in house prices for entry-level houses, which has meant the Australian dream is further out of reach for younger Australians. It’s crazy we have programs that aren’t means-tested.

Read more on how the Coalition took up One Nation’s anti-immigration stance on that first home buyer scheme:

No means-testing for the NDIS, assistant minister for Treasury says

Andrew Leigh, Labor’s assistant minister for Treasury, has ruled out means-testing for the national disability insurance scheme ahead of key talks on budget cuts for the program.

Guardian Australia has reported the states are on edge about the federal government’s plans to cut and shift costs for the scheme on to state governments.

Leigh has told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:

We understand the NDIS is the biggest savings challenge we have in the budget … When we came to office it was growing at 22% a year.

Asked whether the Albanese government would “play hardball” with state governments, Leigh said:

I am confident they are coming to these conversations with goodwill. States and territories before the NDIS played a more significant role in supporting people with disability and their families.

On whether the NDIS should be means-tested, Leigh said:

My understanding is that’s not on the table at the moment. We are focused principally on cost control in this scheme.

Gina Rinehart blames Coalition, not just Labor, for fuel crisis

Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, has weighed in on the fuel crisis, blaming the country’s dependence on imports in part on the Coalition.

The comments follow Rinehart distancing herself from the Liberals and Nationals as she backs the smaller rightwing party One Nation.

Rinehart said Australia’s dependence on imports for its fuel needs demonstrated the failures of the Coalition as well as Labor governments. She told a Hancock Iron Ore event on Friday night:

Australia was previously around 96% fuel sufficient. Excessive tape, excessive approvals, be that Labor or Coalition, the Paris Agreement, the unreliable, expensive net zero we cannot afford, has changed this …

This is not the petrol stations’ fault. It is not even the recent Iran war. It is successive governments who have caused us to become around 96% dependent on overseas fuel and have not even spent the money we should have on creating fuel reserves, as stipulated by the International Energy Agency.

Excess bureaucracy not familiar with industry, ideological policies, weak governments and green fantasies driven by those who don’t want to understand this deters [mining] investment …

The irresponsible policies of both Labor and the Coalition increasingly against our industry is seeing investors increasingly focus their investments overseas, decisions which affect Australians future and our already record debt.

Thanks Nick Visser and good afternoon readers. I’ll be guiding you through the rest of the day’s breaking news.

That’s all from me, folks. Luca Ittimani will take things from here. Take care!

Adelaide University considers dropping Santos name from building

The newly formed Adelaide University is considering removing gas company Santos’s name from one of its buildings.

On Saturday, students and conservationists rallied outside the Santos Petroleum Engineering building, calling on the university to dump the name because of the company’s new gas projects.

The university had already been considering dropping the name after a sponsorship deal expired, its vice-chancellor told Guardian Australia.

Prof Nicola Phillips started as vice-chancellor in January after the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide merged.

“That process of consideration was already under way,” she said.

Read more here:

Queensland parliament to debate third round of adult crime laws

Queensland parliament will debate a third round of the state’s “adult crime laws this week

“We promised Queenslanders to restore safety where they live, and today, I can announce that this week in parliament, we will be debating the third tranche of adult crime adult time,” youth justice minister, Laura Gerber, said on Monday.

The expanding “adult crime, adult time” and taking a strong stance on the drugs and antisocial behaviour amendment bill 2026 is a broad-ranging bill with three main elements.

• It rolls back the state’s drug diversionary scheme.

• The bill gives police expanded move on powers in designated precincts allowing them to ban people from returning to a place for three months, which critics say would be used against vulnerable groups such as the homeless.

• It also adds an additional 12 offences to the state’s “adult time, adult crime” sentencing system, which increases youth sentences.

The deputy opposition leader, Cameron Dick, refused to say how the opposition would vote on the bill this morning, though Labor’s statement of reservation on the bill says it would take “an iron fist to the most vulnerable in our communities”.

Like the other two adult crime laws, the bill limits a number of human rights, including the right to protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to liberty and security of person, among others, according to the government.

Environment minister says Taylor talking ‘rubbish’

The environment minister, Murray Watt, criticised Taylor’s speech in a post to X.

Once again Angus Taylor is talking absolute rubbish about fast-tracking projects, this time in WA. Taylor and the Liberals had ten years to overhaul the EPBC Act to fast-track project approvals but instead oversaw the closure of four fuel refineries.

Angus Taylor promises fossil fuel-focused ‘freedom agenda’

The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has vowed to unpick the Albanese government’s climate and environment policies under a “freedom agenda” that promotes more extraction of fossil fuels.

In a speech to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA on Monday, Taylor said a future Coalition government would “unashamedly” back the mining sector by scrapping taxes and removing regulation.

He said:

The Coalition will have a freedom agenda at the centre of its economic policies. A freedom agenda that will eliminate tax and regulation to re-energise the economy. A freedom agenda that will see us dig, drill, and pay down the debt bill.

The former energy minister reaffirmed the Coalition’s commitment to axe the safeguard mechanism, the scheme designed to reduce emissions at the nation’s heaviest polluting industrial sites.

(Taylor did not mention the original scheme was created under Tony Abbott before it was reformed by the Albanese government in 2023. It is still not really working, as my colleague Adam Morton explained here).

Taylor also pledged to “overhaul” the freshly re-written Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) to allow for the fast-tracking of fossil fuel projects.

The opposition leader said the new federal nature laws – which Labor passed with the support of the Greens late last year – “lack any balance” and were drafted to “weaponise a green activist anti-development and anti-industry agenda”.

It’s worth noting that miners were very keen for the then Sussan Ley-led opposition to strike a deal with the Labor to avoid having to deal with legislation influenced by the Greens.

More gay, bisexual and trans Australians can now donate blood

Up to 20,000 additional blood donations are expected to be made each year across Australia, with new rules in effect from Monday allowing many gay and bisexual men and transgender people to donate for the first time.

Previously, many people from the LGBTQ+ community were not eligible to donate blood or platelets if they’d had sex in the past three months, even if that was with the same partner.

Anyone in a monogamous relationship can now donate immediately, as long as other criteria – such as a person’s age and iron levels – are met.

All donors are now asked the same sexual activity questions in the pre-donation questionnaire, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Men will no longer be asked if they’ve had sex with men.

So what has changed, and why?

Helicopter pilot critically injured in remote Queensland crash

A helicopter pilot has suffered life threatening injuries in a crash in far western Queensland.

The incident took place about 9.30 this morning, just off Tumbar Road, near Blackall, according to Queensland police. Blackall is about 965km north-west of Brisbane.

A spokesperson for Queensland ambulance said paramedics at the scene had treated a male patient with critical and life threatening injuries.

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are travelling to the area to investigate the cause of the crash.

Petrol prices fall below $2 a litre in some cities

Petrol prices have fallen below $2 a litre in some major cities and are at pre-Iran war levels in Melbourne.

The average price of unleaded at Melbourne service stations is 203.7 cents a litre today, according to MotorMouth. That’s close to where it was in the final week of February, before the US began bombing Iran.

Unleaded is the cheapest it’s been since at least 11 March in every capital city. In Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, unleaded is averaging 195 to 196 cents a litre.

Diesel prices are at their lowest point in about a month, at 290 to 295 cents a litre in all capitals except Perth, where diesel is averaging 284.6 at the service station.

Retail prices have followed steady declines in wholesale prices charged at the terminal. Diesel’s wholesale price is below 260 cents a litre today in most cities for the first time since 16 March, and unleaded is at 187 cents for the first time since 11 March, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.

NAB predicts fewer borrowers will repay loans, shares fall

National Australia Bank has warned shareholders to expect more borrowers to struggle with loan repayments as the war in Iran adds to inflation and puts some businesses at risk of going under.

NAB this morning flagged it would set more money aside in provisions due to a rise in credit impairment charges, reflecting a greater chance the borrowers won’t repay their loans. Westpac did the same thing last week.

NAB said it would have to change its strategy to get there, including by discounting and partially underwriting its dividend reinvestment plan. It said:

In light of the volatility in markets following the conflict in the Middle East, National Australia Bank (NAB) has reviewed its credit provisioning and capital settings to better reflect the risks now inherent in our business.

The bank will record a $706m credit impairment for the six months to 31 March. That will include a $152m “economic adjustment” to account for the rising risk of a recession and $201m to cover potential collapse of businesses exposed to fuel supply and costs, which have been disrupted by the US-Israel war on Iran.

NAB shares fell more than 3% this morning, to $41.18. The broader market is about flat, with ANZ and Macquarie down a touch, Westpac up a little and Commonwealth Bank up 1.3%.

Queensland police minister defends hate speech laws

Queensland’s police minister has defended his hate speech laws, after pro-Palestine protesters announced a high court challenge at the weekend.

More than 20 protesters were arrested on Saturday and Sunday for displaying or reciting the banned expression “from the river to the sea”.

Dan Purdie was asked if he was concerned about the high court challenge at a press conference this morning.

“We made it quite clear in parliament that there’s some phrases that are calling for the eradication of entire group of people. It was made clear to us that we need to eradicate that, and people need to know now that’s an offence. It’s against the law,” he said.

Police commissioner Brett Pointing refused to comment on the charges, saying that they were before the court.

Banks have not seen major shift in hardship help requests amid Middle East war

Simon Birmingham, a former Liberal senator who is now the CEO of the Australian Banking Association, said the finance industry has not yet seen any “big asks” for hardship assistance amid the conflict in the Middle East and its impacts on petrol prices. But he said banks were monitoring the situation for both businesses and households closely.

Birmingham spoke to Sky News earlier, where he had this to say:

We’re not seeing big asks for hardship assistance at present. There’s no significant change in that regard.

For transport logistics businesses, which are more reliant on fuel, Birmingham said there had been some increased use of overdraft facilities, “so you can see that there are pressure points there”.

Minns on ‘globalise the intifada’ phrase: ‘We would love it to be banned’

At least 26 protesters have so far been charged with various offences, including assaulting police, resisting arrest, and using offensive language. Lanyon said that police were investigating further charges “where we can identify people that took action, such as assaulting police, threatening police, intimidation”.

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has argued that because the protest was also covered by a major events declaration, which gave police similar move-on powers to the Pard laws, charges for those who did not comply with police directions would still stand.

Speaking alongside Lanyon today, Minns reiterated this position, and said that the government is still considering banning the contested phrase “globalise the intifada”, despite the threat of another constitutional challenge and warnings by legal experts.

We would love it to be banned. We are conscious that it’s subject of a constitutional challenge, and as I said last week, it’s in place in one jurisdiction in Queensland. We’ll look to see what the courts decide in that jurisdiction.

After last week’s outcome, protest groups indicated that they may seek to bring another supreme court challenge against the use of the major events declaration, which may limit civil liability claims.

Murray Watt says Queensland premier is ‘all talk, no action’ over new oilfield claims

The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, said Queensland premier David Crisafulli is “all talk, no action” over his excited calls to fast-track the development of a potential oilfield west of Brisbane.

In recent weeks Crisafulli has claimed there could be a “sea of oil” in the Taroom Trough and has demanded the federal government fast-track projects there.

But in a letter to Crisafulli, posted on his LinkedIn page, Watt points out there is currently no proposal or project for the federal government to assess.

Watt also writes the state government could use a bilateral agreement to do environment assessments itself under federal laws – a suggestion that contrasts with Crisafulli’s public demands for the federal government to speed up any assessments. Watt writes:

We have repeatedly said we’re open to anything that delivers sovereign capacity and fuel security, if it stacks up.

In fact, if Crisafulli wanted more than a photo op and flashy headline, he could fast-track this project right now under the existing federal-Queensland bilateral agreement.

Yet again, it’s all talk, no action from the Queensland premier.

Rebel Wilson says The Deb is ‘cute and amazing’ as she arrives at court for defamation hearing

Rebel Wilson praised the film as she entered the federal court in Sydney on Monday for the first day of a fiery nine-day hearing.

“I love the movie – The Deb is so cute and amazing,” she said, per AAP.

Thank you to everyone who’s going to the cinemas.

The star wore a smile and neutral tones as she entered the courthouse after flying to Australia from the US over the weekend.

Chalmers says Iran war fallout means less savings in budget bottom line

Jim Chalmers says the fallout from the Iran war means the upcoming budget will include a smaller “savings package” than planned before the outbreak of hostilities.

The treasurer also pushed back economists’ predictions the 12 May budget would reveal a “revenue bump” from higher commodity prices linked to the global energy crisis, saying that the associated slower economic growth and higher unemployment would hit the bottom line.

The consequences of this war in the Middle East are already serious, and there is still a risk that they become severe. And so all this means that there is more than the usual amount of uncertainty three weeks out from the budget, we have learned not to get too carried away with each piece of news from the Middle East, whether it’s good or bad.

The budget is expected to reveal further support for households and businesses hurt by spiking fuel prices, offsetting efforts at fiscal repair.

“The savings package won’t be exactly the same as what we would have been contemplating over the summer, but it will be a substantial savings package,” Chalmers said.

I’m going to hand over to my colleague – your usual morning blog guide – Nick Visser. Thanks for reading this morning, and I hope you have a great week.

Treasurer says capital gains changes and other tax reform still under consideration

Sticking with the budget, Chalmers said the government hasn’t made any decisions on capital gains tax reform.

The federal budget in three weeks’ time is widely expected to include changes to tax breaks for investors, in an effort to rebalance the tax system away from the wealthiest Australians and to take pressure off home prices.

Asked about the tax at the press conference, Chalmers said:

We haven’t taken any decisions on those policies, whether the specific ones you mentioned [or others].

There’s more work to do on our options for tax reform in this budget.

We have been really up front for some time now in saying that we do think that there is intergenerational unfairness in the tax system and in the housing market.

You can read more about this here:

NSW firefighters investigating cause of fire at regional high school overnight

New South Wales firefighters have contained a blaze at a high school in Lake Macquarie, south of Newcastle.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) said its firefighters were called to Glendale Technology high school on Clare Street just after 1am, where they found the two-storey building “well alight”.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.

Firefighters were successful in containing the fire earlier this morning using “many numerous lines of hose” and a cherrypicker, and crews remain on the scene, FRNSW said.

The blaze led to the partial collapse of the building and there were no reported injuries, the ABC reported.

Students who are planning to attend the school have been encouraged to contact to check their normal methods of communication with the organisation for updates, and to reach out to the school for further information.

Terry Farley, the FRNSW chief superintendent, is due to hold a press conference at the scene about 9am.

Australian life satisfaction lower than during Covid-19: poll

Fallout from the global energy crisis, rising petrol prices and the war in Iran has contributed to lower average life satisfaction in Australia, according to new research by the Australian National University.

A poll of more than 3,600 adults found average life satisfaction had fallen to 6.22 on a scale of 0 to 10, the lowest recorded, and below levels reached during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Nearly 35% of Australians reported finding it difficult or very difficult on their current income, while the majority have taken at least one significant financial coping action in the past year.

“Australia in March 2026 is a country under considerable strain,’’ researcher Prof Nicholas Biddle said.

Unlike the lockdown periods, this decline is not a sharp shock from a higher base: life satisfaction was already depressed, making the current reading the culmination of a sustained deterioration rather than a sudden fall.